As used in this disclosure and the claims annexed thereto, the term rigid suitcase is intended to relate to transportable luggage, such as a carry-on case, a suitcase and the like, as used to carry personal belongings, e.g. during a business or pleasure trip, of the type composed of two mutually articulated plastic shells. Such suitcases differ from soft suitcases, which are made up of a frame covered by flexible fabric sheets.
Rigid suitcases are usually composed of two mutually hinged shells which define an interior volume for containing personal belongings. Such interior volume is often divided into multiple compartments for organized retention of items of different types, such as garments and shoes, while preventing such items from getting damaged during transport. The typical rigidity of rigid luggage shells prevents the contents in the interior volume from being excessively pressed during transport.
There is a growing demand by rigid suitcase users for easily and readily accessible containing compartments. For example, during boarding at an airport, travel and identity documents should be ready at hand for submission but also kept with care. In these situations, it would not be feasible to keep documents in the volume defined by the two suitcase shells. In order to address such kinds of requirements, rigid suitcases have been developed, which have one or more soft fabric pockets sewn or bonded to the outer wall of one of the two suitcase shells. This arrangement obviates the above mentioned drawback, as it provides a readily accessible containing space, separate from the interior volume defined by the two shells.
Nevertheless, this type of rigid suitcase still has a few drawbacks.
The pocket is not easily sewn and bonded to the suitcase shell, a number of steps being required therefor, which increase manufacturing costs and are reflected in often high sale prices.
Furthermore, when a pocket is sewn to the outer shell of a suitcase, especially when sewing is not properly done, water-tightness of the suitcase might be affected, with possible water infiltrations when the suitcase is exposed to rain.
Also, if the size of the suitcase requires it to be boarded separately from its owner, the latter will no longer have the suitcase, and hence the contents of the soft pocket, readily available.
In the light of the above described prior art, the technical purpose of the present invention is to provide a rigid suitcase that obviates the above drawbacks.
Particularly, the object of the present invention is to provide a rigid suitcase that can provide additional containing space for easy and ready access by its user.
According to the present disclosure, the technical purpose and the intended object are fulfilled by a rigid suitcase as defined by the features of one or more of the annexed claims.
The above mentioned figures shall be intended as not being necessarily drawn to scale, and with the various components in their relative proportions.